The present invention relates to determining an amount of crude oil or similar liquid energy commodity that is stored in a particular location, such as tank farm or storage hub.
Liquid energy commodities, such as crude oil, comprise a multi-billion dollar economic market. These commodities are bought and sold by many parties, and as with any traded market, information about the traded commodities is very valuable to market participants. Specifically, the operations of the various components and facilities of the production, transportation, storage, and distribution systems for each of these commodities can have significant impacts on the price and availability of these commodities, making information about said operations valuable. Furthermore, such information generally is not disclosed publicly by the various component and facility owners or operators, and access to said information is therefore limited.
For example, crude oil is typically stored in large, above-ground tanks A collection of such above-ground tanks at a particular location is often referred to as a “tank farm.” To the extent that a collection of such above-ground tanks is located near the intersection of many outgoing and incoming pipelines, it may also be referred to as a “storage hub.” Similarly, other liquid energy commodities of interest, including natural gas liquid derivatives (or condensates) and refined petroleum products (such as diesel, gasoline, and fuels oils) may also be stored in such above-ground tanks on a tank farm or at a storage hub.
In any event, whether crude oil or other liquid energy commodity, activity at tank farms or storage hubs is of interest to market participants.